UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar Post-Fight Thoughts

I had a hunch that UFC 153 was going to be a pretty spectacular card in terms of the actual in-cage fighting, and I was right. There were only two decisions on the entire card, and not a single fight could be described as “boring.” Not if you’re a real fight fan, anyway.

Let’s open up this beautiful Sunday morning—while we wait for the latest Red Bull Stratos jump attempt and tonight’s Texans game against the Packers—and talk about a few key points from the latest UFC Rio event.

— I don’t really know what else I can say about Anderson Silva at this point. We knew he’d beat Bonnar, and we knew he’d likely toy with Stephan like a cat playing with string until he was ready to finish the fight. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when it happened, and yet I am. Bonnar opened up quickly and tried to turn the fight into a grind by pressing Silva’s back against the cage, but it backfired on him in meteoric fashion. Silva used his Matrix-like ability to dodge punches—the animated gifs are out there, and you should look for them—before calmly stepping back with his back against the Octagon cage.

Essentially, Silva was putting himself back in the position where Bonnar thought he had the best chance to win the fight, and then toying with him from there. It’s hard to imagine how soul-crushing it must have been for Bonnar to throw a spinning back kick, only to see Silva calmly sidestep the kick and then move back to the exact same position he was in, staring calmly at Bonnar all the while.

And then Silva decided it was time to finish the fight, so he did, throwing a vicious knee straight into the sternum of Bonnar and sending him crumpled to the mat. This was no ordinary knee; even though it hit Bonnar’s chest, it still snapped his head back and lifted him slightly off the ground. A few punches later and it was over, but Silva didn’t really even need to throw those punches—Bonnar was already covering his face on the ground. He was done.

I don’t know what’s next for Silva. I know what Dana White and the UFC want for him, and that’s Jon Jones. I’m not optimistic they can make that fight happen, but perhaps money really does talk, and perhaps they’ll come up with astronomical monetary figures that make both fighters change their minds.

What I do know is this: Silva is the greatest fighter of all time. There’s zero question about it at this point.

— Jon Fitch won a fight of the night award. I repeat: Jon Fitch won fight of the night. And deservingly so, as he fought like a man posessed in derailing the Erick Silva hype train. I’d fallen for Silva’s hype over the past year myself, and Fitch just reminded me that he’s still one of the best welterweights in the world. He needed to prove something—to himself, the fans and the UFC—last night, and he did it with one of the manliest performances I can remember.

— There were plenty of terrible refereeing moments on this card, but many of them can be attributed directly to Fernando Yamasaki—or Wario Yamasaki, as I like to call him, because he’s Mario’s evil and terrible brother. Yamasaki committed some of the worst stand-ups I’ve ever seen in a fight, barely giving guys more than 15-20 seconds to grapple before standing them up. He’s a terrible ref, and Marc Ratner should never utilize him again.

And then there was his brother Mario allowing Glover Teixeira to nearly beat Fabio Maldonado into a coma without stopping the fight. The beating was so severe and thorough that it was actually hard to watch, and I breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor put an end to the proceedings after the second round.

— As far as Teixiera goes, he appears to be the real deal, but I’ll reserve judgment on that until I see him face a top contender. He called out original opponent Rampage Jackson after the fight; I’d like to see that one happen, perhaps as soon as January.

One Response

Jer, you’re right on with Maldanado. Fabio is the baddest dude I’ve ever seen. Sure he “lost” the fight, but my respect-ometer went through the roof. I’ve never seen anyone take a hammering like that. It should have been over in the first round. He was getting ground pounded in the first minute and suffered over 100 blows in round one alone. Only to get back up and tag Glover’s chin. I’d hold my money on Teixeira for a bit longer. Fabio, who just got run over by a truck was able to recover from a real spanking and tap a jaw that looked a little fragile. As far as Wario goes, that fight should have been called way earlier. But had it been, before Fabio tagged Glover, maybe you’d be lashing him for calling it too early. Problem was Fabio has a face like a concrete wall. He never gave up.
Fitch showed the world as well. Very impressive display by him.
Only thing I’d say about Silva, when he started to stand against the cage, I couldn’t help but think about Ali’s Rope-A-Dope. The old boxer would let his opponents punch themselves out while Ali layed back into the ropes and cover. It looked as if Silva might be thinking the same kind of strategy. But in the end, I think your assessment is right on. I got my PPV money’s worth last night.